Peak District village in revolt at ‘nonsense’ parking plans

Castleton folk have reacted with disbelief at county council plans for parking restrictions in the village.

Derbyshire County Council has stated its rationale for the move is to improve road safety and traffic flow but community leaders argue the scheme will have the opposite effect.

The new parking regime would see charged parking bays enforced along the majority of the south side of How Lane everyday between 9am and 5pm, as well as several other congested roads in the village.

But Norman Fisher, chairman of Castleton Parish Council, said the measure would mean a line of parked cars along a very narrow and busy main road and was ‘complete nonsense’.

“There is not enough room for three widths of traffic along How Lane,” he said. “It is heavily-used by traffic flowing through the town during week days and weekends.

“At the moment there is room in-between parked cars for drivers to nip into and let others pass from the opposite direction, but if the road is full of parked cars there will be no room.

“But the county council does not seem to have taken that into consideration at all - we think this is just a revenue-raising exercise and has nothing to do with the reasons they state.”

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “We have worked with the parish council and approached councillors for feedback on proposals for a scheme of parking restrictions including residents’ only parking permit areas.

“Following comments received we revised our proposals and launched a consultation to give everyone the chance to have their say. We will consider all the comments before any decisions are made.”